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Pompeo To Urge UN Security Council To Recognize Venezuela's Guaido

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will urge UN Security Council
members to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’ interim
president during a January 26 emergency meeting, the State Department
said in a statement issued on January 25.
"Secretary Pompeo will urge members of the Security Council and the
international community to uphold international peace and security by
recognizing Juan Guaido as the constitutional interim President of
Venezuela, and call for support for the transitional government in their
quest to restore democracy and the rule of law," the statement said.

The meeting of the 15-member council was requested by the United States
after the U.S. and a number of countries in the region said they
recognized Guaido as head of state and urged President Nicolas Maduro to
step down.

Maduro has been criticized for alleged human rights abuses and for his handling of Venezuela's economy.

The UN request faces opposition from Russia, which has expressed support for its ally Maduro.

If the UN Security Council holds a meeting on Venezuela, Moscow will
insist on compliance with international law, Russia's RIA news agency
cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on January 25.

When asked on January 24 if the council should meet on Venezuela,
Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said: “I don’t think so, that’s
their internal business.”